According to the head of the Estonian Army Intelligence Centre, Ants Kiviselg, the offensive actions of the Russian occupation army in the border areas of Kharkiv region do not indicate any intention to capture Kharkiv.
Estonian intelligence does not see any signs of readiness of the Russian army to attack Kharkiv
Kiviselg notes that the Russian occupiers, most likely, seek to create a buffer zone, rather than resorting to attempts to capture Kharkiv.
The Russian Federation Armed Forces are advancing in the recently opened Kharkiv direction, but at a slower pace. This, as well as the nature of the Russian Federation Armed Forces' behaviour, suggests a desire to create a buffer zone. Russian troops have attacked and destroyed important bridges in the area of Vovchansk, creating a natural barrier between the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the Russian army. This is rather an indication of the intention of Russian troops to build a line of defence than to create a bridgehead for an offensive on Kharkiv,’ the Estonian intelligence chief emphasises.
According to him, the Russian occupiers managed to advance to a depth of 8 kilometers, in the zone that is fired by the invaders' artillery.
This also, as Kiviselg explains, prevented Ukraine from building a defense line closer than 10-20 kilometers from the border.
At the same time, it was impossible to build powerful fortifications closer than 3-5 kilometers from the border.
The "North" troop group operates in the Kharkiv direction, the purpose of which is to impede the advance of Ukrainian reserve forces and support the offensive in the Donetsk direction. About 2,000 people take part in direct combat clashes in the Kharkiv direction, another 1,500-2,000 fighters are in reserve. In total, about 35,000 servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are concentrated in the area, most likely, the group will grow in the near future. However, it is unlikely that Russia will be able to concentrate 300,000 people in this direction, which, according to various estimates, is the minimum necessary amount of forces to ensure the capture of Kharkiv,’ notes the head of the Estonian intelligence center.
What Estonian intelligence says about the situation in other areas of the front
Kiviselg also emphasised that in other areas of the front, the occupation army of the Russian Federation maintains a high intensity of combat operations, moving forward at the expense of tactical local clashes.
The main battles are taking place in the Pokrovsky direction around Ocheretyne and on the way to Chasiv Yar.
In the southern direction, fighting continues in the Zaporizhzhia region in Robotyne, but the Ukrainian defence is holding.
The Armed Forces also continue to hold a bridgehead on the left bank of the Dnipro River.
